About Justin
Meet Justin
I am a Herndon resident, business owner, husband, father, and community advocate who has called Herndon home for more than 25 years.
Like many residents, I love Herndon because of its strong sense of community, historic charm, and vibrant local events. I am running for Town Council because I believe Herndon has incredible potential. I believe we can preserve what makes our town special while making it easier for residents, businesses, and property owners to invest, improve, and grow.
Herndon has great bones. Now it's time to build on them.
Qualifications
I bring more than three decades of leadership, business, and project management experience to the table.
As a marketing director and project leader, I manage large teams, complex initiatives, and multi-million-dollar budgets. My career has focused on improving processes, removing bottlenecks, creating accountability, and delivering measurable results. My wife and I both founded and manage small businesses in the Town of Herndon.
I dedicate time to serving the community through volunteer organizations such as Deltek Cares, business mentorship and leadership programs focused on creating new leaders (LEAP & LEAD programs) and as vice president of our community HOA.
Most importantly, I am known as someone who listens, works collaboratively, and finds practical solutions. Succeeding in business and government requires consideration, competence and compromise. That's the approach I will bring to Town Council.
My Priorities
Efficiency: Town Hall should support residents and small businesses by modernizing processes, reducing unnecessary delays, and increasing accountability. If a homeowner wants to improve their property or a small business wants to upgrade a storefront, they shouldn't have to wait months.
- Development Transparency Dashboard: I will push to publish monthly town metrics online—including average time to first review, sign permit review times, and pending applications. In government as in business, we cannot improve what we do not track, measure, and report consistently.
- Fast-Track Routine Approvals: Let's save full board hearings for major architectural changes. Minor updates like painting, window replacements, awnings, or outdoor dining upgrades should receive fast-track administrative approval from staff.
- Cut Bureaucracy for Residents: Efficiency isn't just for businesses. Let's eliminate outdated administrative hoops—like requiring residents to bring a physical paper water bill to prove residency just to get a local discount at the Herndon Centennial Golf Course.
Economic Growth: Herndon has too much potential to leave prime locations sitting empty. We must bring accountability to long-vacant properties to grow our tax base, lower the financial burden on homeowners, and strengthen the entire community.
- Hold Stagnant Property Owners Accountable: We can use "carrots" like expedited permitting and local real estate tax abatements for those who renovate or sell. But we need to use mor "sticks"—like a Vacant Property Registry and derelict building tax classifications—for owners who let properties rot or allow junk cars to sit unmoved for years. An empty lot does not help the town.
- Resolve the Comstock Problem: We must prioritize getting the Downtown development project back on track. It is the financial and structural lynchpin to bringing in the infrastructure, foot traffic, and commercial tax revenue our town needs. I will advocate for more visibility and local PR to put pressure on Comstock.
- Activate Dormant Properties: Once litigation is settled, we should turn empty spaces like the old Subaru dealership into temporary parks, community spaces, or pop-up hubs for local vendors. Lets not wait 10 more years to use that space.
Community: I will always support the beloved events and traditions—like Friday Night Live and the 4th of July celebrations—that make Herndon special. At the same time, we must expand outdoor dining, improve traffic flow, and ensure our streets remain safe and welcoming.
- Encourage Ownership-Stake Housing: To support a thriving downtown, we will need more density. I prefer to see houses, townhouses, and condos over apartments so that the people living downtown have a true ownership stake in our community.
- Link the Metro with Downtown: The Metro will bring added visitors to Herndon. We need to bridge the Metro to our historic downtown with weekend trolley service, clear wayfinding signage, historic markers, attractive art, and landscaping that draws cyclists and walkers directly into our business district.
- Alleviate Traffic and Congestion: Smart growth requires smart traffic relief. I will advocate for high-tech, adaptive traffic signal coordination systems to automatically synchronize downtown lights, and look to create dedicated bus pull-offs on Elden Street so stopped buses don't back up traffic.
- Prioritize Public Safety & Town Assets: As regional challenges grow, we must ensure our local police department has the resources they need so families and shoppers always feel entirely safe downtown.